The Growth of Special Education in Wisconsin - The percentage of Wisconsin students identified as in need of special education has increased steadily in the past 25 years, yet a wide disparity in rates among districts exists. The most notable variation exists across school districts in the incidence of students labeled as learning disabled and emotionally disturbed, suggesting that eligibility criteria for these disabilities may not be guided by a sound science. (Thomas Hruz, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, July 2002)...

Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education--Summary - Educators should provide minority students who are poorly prepared for school with high-quality instruction and social support in a general classroom before making a determination that special education is needed, according to this new report. Since 1975, when Congress passed the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" requiring schools to serve disabled students, children in some racial and ethnic groups have been placed in special education programs in disproportionately large numbers. The report examines the data on early childhood experience, on differences in educational opportunity, and on referral and placement, and also considers whether disproportionate representation should be considered a problem. (Committee on Minority Representation in Special Education, M. Suzanne Donovan and Christoper T. Cross, Editors, National Research Council, 2002)...

Conference on Minority Education in Special Education MS Word - This research report by the Civil Rights Project provides key research findings and policy recommendations regarding special education programs and the need for reassessment by researchers, policymakers, advocates, and educators in terms of the positive and negative implications for minority students. Special education has been too often a place to segregate minorities and students with disabilities. Despite some far-reaching improvements, both racial and disability discrimination persists. (The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University, November 2000)...